Introduction

The Golden Hammer is a cognitive bias where a tool or technology is used excessively or inappropriately, even when better alternatives are available. This approach can lead to unnecessary complexity, decreased productivity, and increased expansion costs.

Simply put, when someone is very skilled with a hammer, they see everything as a nail!

Examples of Golden Hammer in Software Projects

1. Using Oracle’s Full-Text Index Instead of Elasticsearch

In one project, the team used Oracle’s Full-Text Index for text search, which led to complexity and decreased performance. Tools like Elasticsearch or Solr were much more suitable for this task and were in no way comparable.

2. Using Oracle ADF for Implementing a Large-Scale Enterprise Project

In a large enterprise project, the development team was keen on using Oracle ADF, which led to missing out on programming language features (such as testing capabilities) and reduced flexibility. ADF is heavily dependent on the Oracle software ecosystem, and in many cases, a programming language (such as Java) along with its ecosystem would have been a better choice for faster development, more flexibility, and better scalability.

This was also a classic Golden Hammer case.

Since the team was highly familiar with PL/SQL, they wanted to use it to solve everything.

3. Misuse of Apache Kafka

A friend of mine shared a similar experience: using Apache Kafka as a database, object storage, or a general-purpose data repository is a prime example of the Golden Hammer.

Kafka is a powerful tool for event-driven data streams, but forcing it into roles it was not designed for only increases complexity and reduces performance.

How to Avoid the Golden Hammer

  • Evaluate Project Needs: Before choosing a tool, examine available options.
  • Flexibility in Decision-Making: Instead of insisting on one tool, select the most suitable solution.
  • Consultation and Continuous Learning: Learn from others’ experiences and familiarize yourself with new approaches.

Conclusion

The Golden Hammer can lead to increased complexity and decreased quality in software projects. By making informed decisions about tools and methods, we can avoid this pitfall and make software development more efficient and effective.

If you enjoy reading topics like this and want to dive deeper into real enterprise lessons, read my upcoming book: Building Enterprise Projects with Go.